Recipe For
by YikoMeansMoonlight
Summary: Shikamaru meets a beautiful, talented girl that seems to like him...very troublesome.
1. Responsibility

Responsibility

"Shikamaru!" his Mother was using her full volume to try and get through his dense head.

"What?" he muttered, disgruntled.

"Me and your father have already told you," she continued to wind down, "Now that you're sixteen, you're _going _to get a job."

Shikamaru sighed, he knew this had been coming. He had just turned sixteen yesterday and his parents had already been this over this with him three years ago.

_"Shikamaru, when are you going to get a job?"_

_"…Probably never." he smirked at his mother._

_"Shikaku, I don't need him to be a lazy bum here, tell him to get a job!"_

_"I can't-" his father murmured while reading the newspaper._

_"Yes, you can." his mother pulled the newspaper out of his hands._

_"But-"_

_"I don't care what it is! He's always up there with that fat cat, laying on the roof watching the clouds." she complained, "It's infuriating!"_

_"Well-I-he's only thirteen, Honey-" he said in his defense._

_His mother sighed, "Alright, when he's sixteen he gets a job, no arguments." she finished._

_"Yes Ma'm," his father saluted, "Shikamaru?" _

_Shikamaru stumbled to his feet and saluted as well, "Yes Ma'm!"_

Now the day was here…this was so troublesome.


	2. Opportunity

Opportunity

Shikamaru entered his favorite bakery with a cling of the chimes.

"Good morning, Shikamaru!" a chubby man at the counter greeted, "How's it going?"

Shikamaru nodded while sitting down at a small colorful table. This was Choji's father's shop.

If he was going to get a job he might as well work somewhere he liked. He was also going to put it off until the last minute. He smirked, _"Victory for me, mother…"_

Choji sat down at the delicately tiled mosaic table across Shikamaru.

"So what are you here for?" Choji inquired with a chubby smile similar to his father's, "Being lazy as usual?"

"Sadly, no…" Shikamaru sighed, "I have to get a job.

Choji was breathless…because he was laughing so hard. "You- Get- a- j-job?" he choked in between laughs.

Shikamaru didn't look amused. He shook his head as a figure glided across his peripheral vision. His attention swerved to the shadow and his eyes fell on a girl about their age. He remembered her now, she was a shinobi from the Land of Mist. Her older sister was on the Leaf Shinobi Anbu Black- Ops, so she had moved here with her two brothers' and sister. She had fought in the Chunin Exams against with a group of Stone shinobi. She had been a powerful enemy and in the end she had defeated her opponent breathing hard, her mental state exposed. His gaze followed her as she went behind the curtain leading to an 'employees only' area.

"Hey…" Shikamaru glanced at a laughing Choji, Shikamaru slapped him upside the head, "Choji!"

"Huh?" he said swiping the tears of laughter from his face.

"She works here?" he jerked his pineapple- shaped hairstyle at the smiling waitress.

"Duh!" Choji raised his eyebrows up and down rapidly, "Oo-la-la Shikamaru! You layin' eyes on my cousin?"

Shikamaru blushed and looked away, "Cousin? " he muttered.

"Yeah," Choji explained, "I passed out before I could see her battle. A few days after I was let out of the hospital, I bumped into her on my way to Dad's bakery. We became quick friends and that's when she told me that my dad was her uncle and she was going to work for him."

"Oh." Shikamaru tilted his chin up in thought, "What does she do?"

"She bakes and waits tables, and when there are more waiters and waitresses she creates these tables."

"She made these tables?" Shikamaru's pupil's widened as he stared at the intricacy of the mosaic tiles. Each tile had it's own little design that played into a larger picture. This table smelled of hickory.

Choji nodded, obviously proud of his beautiful cousin, "_And_ sings on Saturday nights, the voice of an Angel…" he shook his head at the thought.

The girl slid a coffee on a newly weds couple's table and congratulated them. She then made her way to the table Shikamaru and Choji were sitting at.

"Hey Choji!" the girl smiled, "Shikamaru."

"How do you know my name?" he asked suspiciously.

"Choji talks about you a lot…" she trailed off.

"Or..." Choji whispered as Shikamaru sipped the coffee that Choji's cousin had just handed him. "Or she's a stalker…"

Shikamaru spurted his special mix of coffee and spit all over Choji is sort of a projectile- fashion.

She hit him in the arm playfully and glided away once again.

"You're such a drag Choji…."


	3. Applications

Applications 

Choji's father smiled again when Shikamaru slumped up to the counter.

"What'ya need Mister Nara?" he asked politely.

"I'm here to apply for a job." Shikamaru muttered regretfully.

"I'm glad to hear that," the man chuckled, "Here you are!" he handed Shikamaru a green apron.

Shikamaru looked at the apron in surprise, "Now?"

"Yup!" the chubby man grinned, "Your father called."

"Father…" he growled.

"Yiko will help you get started. Yiko!" he called.

Choji's cousin appeared out of the curtain and walked up to her uncle, long black hair waving in her ponytail as she did so.

"Yes?"

" I want you to instruct Shikamaru here, he just applied for a job and he needs a guide to show him the ropes."

Yiko's silver eyes gleamed mischievously. She smiled and nodded, "Mister Nara." she then took her leave.

He looked at Choji's father and then back at the girl. "Go ahead." the man chortled.

Shikamaru sighed and followed his peer behind the green curtain.

"This is where we bake," she started, "You're just a waiter for now. Don't worry: everyone starts that way. Anyway, usually you take orders, I'll make the food and you bring it out. Simple as that." she smiled.

"When do I get to bake things?" he asked.

"When you learn." she smirked.

"I know how to make custard dumplings." he offered.

Her eyes widened, "Custard Dumplings? Those are my favorite!" she closed her eyes in what Shikamaru could only guess was a reminiscing moment for her.

"You know how to make them?"

"No…" she sighed, eyes downcast.

"I can…I can teach you..." he thought out loud.

"You would do that?" her eyes glimmered at the thought.

He chuckled and nodded, "When?"

"On a lazy day, when my Uncle doesn't care what we do."

"Like...?"

"Like Friday."

"Friday's a lazy day?"

"Yup," she tied the apron around him, her delicate fingers lacing the sting together quickly. She dropped a pen and notepad in his hand and pushed him out the curtain, "Now off you go!"


	4. Author's Note

Author's note: Hey guys! Thanks so much for reviewing! I'm so happy people are reading my stories! To answer musikchic4eva's question, Well, They're all still ninja's which you will see in the next chapter :D I also thought Shikamaru would be too lazy to go on missions, and his mom (Which I'm not sure if I made her OCC or not) would probably not be satisfied with that anyway, so I think I will save missions for my other stories. So that's it for now.


	5. Lazy Fridays Part 1

Lazy Fridays Part 1

Shikamaru walked up the street, frowning at the time. _"It's much too early to actually be out of bed." _He looked up at the sky, envying the clouds. _"_They're _probably sleeping." _he thought groggily. He stopped. He heard slow, irregular (maybe drugged) footsteps on the tiled streets. He turned around, pulling out a kunai as he did so. His eyes were blurred with sleep he wasn't sure he could make anything out. A figure turned the corner and stumbled as if they were also much too tired to be going somewhere. The shadow held their right hand up, "Shikamaru…" It was Yiko. She looked even worse than Shikamaru felt, she looked like she had been jumped. He didn't think anyone could be less of a morning person than him. He ran towards her as she fell on the hard cobblestone.

"Yiko?" he asked offering a hand to her.

"I'm...alright…" her eyes were closed, yet she still reached for his hand.

He tried to pull her up but she fell back down, trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. He then attempted pulling her up by her arms, she stood for a second and then fell to the ground once again.

He sighed, picking her up and continued walking, her lifeless body on his back.

"At least hold on!" he complained. Her arms slid down his shoulders and dangled off them.

He sighed again, "Close enough."

When he entered the shop with Yiko on his shoulders Choji sent him a thankful look. He set her down on a couch near the door and walked up to his chubby friend. "Hmm?"

"Oh, thanks for bringin' her. She's not a morning person." he laughed, gesturing to her sleeping figure, "Even more so than _you_."

Shikamaru sighed while shaking his head, "Coming to work so early…what a drag…"

"Good morning Shikamaru!" the smiling owner handed him a cup of coffee, "Here, Lazy Friday special."

The man then glanced at Yiko, "_Please_ tell me she walked here."

Choji chuckled while shaking his head, "Shikamaru carried her here on his shoulders'."

"This happens _every_ morning…" Choji's father walked away mumbling something about changing the time for employees to get to work.


	6. Lazy Fridays Part 2

Lazy Fridays Part 2

Yiko watched the custard dumplings with great intensity. He had told her to wait while he went and got Choji but…they looked so good! She reached for one, while looking around the bakery kitchen and continued with her evil deed. She grabbed one with both hands and ate a little piece by piece. _"TOTALLY worth it."_ she thought to herself lightheartedly.

"MMMM!" she allowed herself to make this sound, enjoying the dumpling further.

Just then Shikamaru swung down from a set of big rectangular kitchen lights hanging on the ceiling, he looked like Spiderman, hanging upside down like that.

"Tsk, tsk, what a naughty girl..." he said reproachfully.

"Uh…I can explain!" she hid the dumpling behind her back.

"Oh, you can?" he asked, skillfully falling down on his feet.

"Yeah, I can..." she stuck her hand in the flour tin, "But can you?"

"Wha-" he didn't finish, a fistful of flour had covered his face.

She laughed, excited her trick had worked, and hid under the counter, grabbing the dumplings for later.

"Hey!" Shikamaru spat, trying and failing to get the flour of his mouth with various spitting techniques.

He ran to the counter and jumped over it, "Aha!" he said as he reached for her. A poof of smoke and a clatter of the dish, told him it had been a substitution.

She came up behind him and tapped his shoulder. He once again attempted to pull her in his arms, but instead inhaled another cloud of smoke. He changed his mind about holding her prisoner. He decided war was the only way now. He placed his hand near one of the dumplings and performed shadow-clone jutsu. He smiled, _"Declaring war, hopefully I don't get fired for this."_

She ran around the corner with another hand-full of flour. _"Yes!" _she thought as she spotted Shikamaru.

She threw the flour at his face and more smoke emitted from the place he had been. _"What?" _she turned around too late, Shikamaru already had his arms wrapped around her stomach, "Hand over your dignity or your life!" he said.

"Never!" she yelled.

"At least be my queen." Shikamaru joked in a fake flirtatious tone.

She blushed, "W-W-what?" she stuttered as she squirmed in his arms.

Before he could retort, Choji's father barged into the kitchen and saw Yiko in Shikamaru's arms.

His hand went to his forehead, "Listen, I know it's a lazy Friday but I can't have you guys wrecking my kitchen. Get outside for today."

Shikamaru grabbed her hand and dragged her out the back door. _"If I lose my job over this..."_


	7. Author's Note 2

Hey people!

Thank you so much for reading my little fanfiction! There are just a few things that I'd like to tell you about:

First off, I changed a few things in the first three chapters. Don't worry they weren't big things. In the first chapter, I replaced my mistake of, "(Insert father's name here)" to Shikamaru's Father's real name. The changes in the second chapter were, "Konichiwa, og en ki deska" (I know, it shouldn't be phonetic XD ) to, "Good Morning, how's it going?" I also changed some punctuation, and I took out Yiko's ability to paint. I felt that it was a stretch for her to have that much talent in so many areas, so I took it away. But I gave a more detailed description of her mosaic-table-making.

Secondly I deleted Part Three of Lazy Fridays. I felt it was super cheesy and I felt like I was bringing in pointless drama too soon. So instead I'm going to give you guys hopefully a much better chapter in exchange for your appreciated patience!

THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU! Not only for reading but for being patient with me. I feel horrible for not updating things. I've been having this horrible writer's block for months now and it's driving me crazy! But I can feel it passing, so please just hang on a bit longer!

Thank you, YikoMeansMoonlight


	8. Friendship

Friendship

Their sandals clicked on the cobblestone as Shikamaru and Yiko walked down a vacant street on their way to work.

"So, how did you like your fifth lazy Friday?" Yiko's eyes gleamed with laughter.

"Well, it was…interesting." His arms swung up and folded behind his head, "I never really expected your uncle to be the type to sew." He chuckled. "Although, I'm afraid of getting fired: especially with you around."

She shot him a sly smile, "Are you trying to say something, _Mister _Nara?"

"Nah…" He smirked right back, "It's not like you're a mischievous child or anything."

Zipping up her jacket in the chilly air and pulling the neckline over her mouth, Yiko laughed, "I thought someone with your IQ and blunt thinking would've said something sooner. But I'm guessing you don't always wear your fancy facade?"

Sighing, his hot breath hanging in the air like mist, he muttered, "You know, when you ask things like that, it's really troublesome."

"If I didn't ask them, who would?" She smiled brightly. "So Shikamaru, tell me about yourself."

"That's the sixteenth time you've asked me that question since we met." He chortled.

"You're not giving me the kind of answer I'm looking for." She moaned.

"What else can I say? I was born here, raised here, and I like to lay on the roof with Onbon."

"How about feelings? Do you even believe in those?" She joked. "Maybe more personal things like…" she frowned: pondering the options. "Your name! What does it mean?"

"My name means, "As a Deer" Swift, cute," Shikamaru smirked once again at Yiko's flushed cheeks.

"Scared? Deer are easily scared." She piped, "Do you ever feel like a deer in headlights deep inside?"

Shikamaru looked away, flustered, "I'm not usually…" Memories of his early, early childhood flooded into his vision. He pushed them to the back of his mind again, where they belonged.

"I see." She smiled, seemingly content with his answer.

"What about you? What does your name mean?" he questioned.

"Yiko means moonlight. Maybe my parents saw the moon in me." She chuckled sadly, "It's not like I can ask them."

Frowning, he turned to Yiko, "Why is that?"

Looking down, her pace became slower, "My mother and father passed away before I moved here. I was 10."

"I'm sorry for asking." Shikamaru lightly placed his hand on her shoulder, "I didn't know-"

"It's not your fault." She looked up suddenly with a grin plastered on her face, "It's almost time for work; we'd better get going!"

Shikamaru nodded silently as he watched her speed into a sprint. They were about 5 minutes away from the shop, although he was fully aware of the time. It was 6:15.

The shop opened at 7:00.


End file.
